An oft-repeated piece of advice for writers is “Write what you know.” That advice, strictly followed, could result in boring books. There might be a few experiences in my life, maybe a couple of people I’ve known, that can be fictionalized and sensationalized enough to warrant being the catalyst for a novel. By and large, though, my imagination is sparked by things I don’t know. I often develop a … [Read more...]
Carolyn Nichols–Editor, Mentor, Friend
Has fate ever brought a life-changing person into your life? A person you never expected, who over the course of several decades filled the roles of employer and mentor and friend? Fate did that for me. Her name was Carolyn Nichols. In the early ‘80s, diploma from my expensive Minnesota college in hand, I headed for New York City in search of fame and fortune. Well, no, not really. An … [Read more...]
Songs That Tell Stories
Back in the day, when I lived in New York in the 1980s, a new singer songwriter was getting a lot of attention—Suzanne Vega. I bought her first album as a cassette tape, and then had to buy it again because I wore out the tape. Eventually I bought the CD, which I found recently when I was reorganizing my music collection. I immediately played it, and aside from being transported back to that other … [Read more...]
Three Productive Hours
A friend mentioned to me recently that the average person works only three productive hours a day. That figure astounded me, so I went looking for verification. I found some information here: http://www.inc.com/melanie-curtin/in-an-8-hour-day-the-average-worker-is-productive-for-this-many-hours.html Anyone who doesn’t work a regular office job will immediately note that this study looks at … [Read more...]
Summer Is Over
Now that summer is over—well, officially over tomorrow with the autumnal equinox—I am returning to this blog. I did not expect my summer to be so busy that I wouldn’t have time to write, and looking back, I can’t see that I was, in fact, that busy. But there were a family wedding and a family reunion and a family medical emergency (that ended well, thank goodness). A summer writing class that I … [Read more...]
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